Girls volleyball | 3A semifinal: Payton falls to LaSalle-Peru

By Bob Narang, Special to the Tribune

NORMAL, Ill. — Payton's quest to break new ground by becoming the first Chicago Public League school to win a state volleyball title must wait another year.

LaSalle-Peru advanced to its first state championship match with a 25-18, 25-17 win over Payton on Friday in a Class 3A semifinal at Redbird Arena. The Cavaliers (35-3) will take on nine-time state champion St. Francis at 5:30 p.m. Saturday for the title.

The Grizzlies (27-12) now are focused on earning the program's first victory at state when they face Breese Central at 4 p.m. Saturday in the third-place match. Payton lost both its state matches in 2008 and 2010.

"I'm the worst bridesmaid in Illinois," Payton coach Joel Anderson said. "We want to get the first victory (at state) of course, and we're going to refocus. The way that we've played to get here is phenomenal. We're happy to make the trip to Normal as we always are."

The Cavaliers, who placed fourth in Class AA in 1990 in their only other state appearance, reached the title match behind a balanced and dominant group. Four players had at least four kills, led by Rachel Hunt's seven. Katie Olson finished with 26 assists.

"I'm very proud of my team," LaSalle-Peru coach Mark Haberkorn said. "Every match it has been somebody different (for us)."

The Grizzlies made several unforced errors and had trouble getting the ball to 6-foot-3 sophomore outside hitter Olivia Rozmus (5 kills).

"We just didn't pass the ball and we didn't move our feet to get to the ball," Anderson said.